All About Dogs!
Getting to Know Dogsas a species and as an individual
• The Senses
• Socialization
• Communication
Dog Senses
Smell
Predominant Sense
• Average Dog: 200 million scent receptors
• Beagles & other hounds: 300 million receptors
• Humans: 5 million receptors
Dog brains are 1/10th the size of human brains,
but part that interprets smell is 40x larger!
Smell
• Dogs can smell:
– Some chemicals in parts per trillion!
– Dead bodies under water
– Where termites are hiding
– Natural gas buried 40’ deep
– Lung cancer by sniffing breath
Taste
• dogs have around 1700
taste buds
• cats only about 470
• humans win, with around
9000 taste buds
Taste
• taste receptors - sweet, bitter, sour, but very little for salt
• also have taste buds that are tuned for water!
Scent-Taste Connection
• Dogs bring many things into their mouths to
get more information through smell, rather
than to taste them.
Hearing
Dogs hear ranges up to 45,000 Hz and maybe as high as 75-100,000 Hz
Humans-children 20 to 20,000 Hz, adults less
Dogs are Dogs can hear sounds four times farther away than humans can
and can detect sounds in six-hundredths of a second.
Sight
• Humans 20/20 compared to dogs 20/75
• Can see moving objects 900 m away, but stationary objects
from only 600 m away
Sight
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Can see color, but similar to red/green colorblindness
Better at seeing shades of gray than humans
Can see views of 250-270 degrees vs. humans’ 180 degrees
Excellent low light/night vision (3x better than humans)
Touch
• Sensory nerve fibers throughout
skin
• Nerves closely associated with
hair follicles
• Specialized hairs called vibrissae
around the eyes, under the chin,
and on the muzzle (i.e.,
whiskers) increase a dog’s
sensitivity in these areas.
• Dogs have the most touch
sensors in their feet
Touch
• Puppies rely on sense of
smell first
• Heat detectors in nose
allow puppies to find
mom and siblings
Ethology
Ethology
The study of animal
behavior, especially
in the natural state.
Wolf Model Theories
The dog as a model for dog behavior is a much more reliable and accurate
model than the traditional wolf pack model, which was inaccurate even for use
with wolves!
• A study of free roaming “wild”
domestic dogs showed they
form fluid, transient
relationships.
• They are capable of working
together but don’t have a
consistent social structure.
Dogs behave more like adolescents who need a parental,
guiding form of leadership:
• establish clear limits
• immediately reward correct behavior
• prevent access or remove rewards for undesirable behavior
before it starts
Dogs are predators
Dogs are opportunists
Dogs mirror emotional states
Safe vs. Unsafe
Dogs make choices on
safe vs. unsafe, not right
vs. wrong
Comfortable vs. uncomfortable
Feeling comfortable and
safe are often the same.
thing
Some factors that influence behavior
•Genetics
•Early Socialization
•Learned experiences
•Age
•Sex and reproductive condition
•Medical condition
Socialization
There is a crucial socialization period
where dogs learn to habituate (learn the
sights and sounds of their environment)
and learn to socialize (learn how to deal
with its own species and humans, cats
and other animals it may constantly be
in contact with).
Socialization
“It is natural for dogs to be wary of things
that are novel and unfamiliar.”
Dr. Ian Dunbar
Socialization Period
The most critical Socialization Period is from 4
weeks to 12 weeks
*Early doesn’t mean only, must continue to do throughout
dog’s life
Fear Period
8-11 weeks
Anything that traumatizes the puppy during this
period, may be generalized to similar events for his
entire life.
Socializing How-to
By the time a puppy is 12 weeks old it should have been exposed to/
experienced:
Many different surfaces
Many kinds of
objects
Different locations
Other animals
Different people
Safe Socialization
Socializing at risk puppies
 Can take outsideavoid contaminated surfaces
 Bring the socialization to them
Dog Communication
For dogs-communication is an important part
of living in a social group
Cooperating while on a hunt
Rearing their offspring
To avoid conflict
Ways of Communicating
Through scents
Ways dogs communicate…..
• Marking
• Finding
others’
scents
• Smelling
each other
Through vocalizations
Visual communication
Scent & Marking
• Smelling each other
• Marking the environment
• Scent + visual markings
Myths & More
Dog Behavior Myths
•A wagging tail means a happy dog
•Playing tug makes dogs aggressive
•Dogs are dominant if they go through the door before you
•You should punish a dog for growling
•Using treats in training makes a dog dependant on food
•If your dog is afraid, petting him will reward the fear
•Pit Bulls can lock their jaws
Fun Facts
• Classical music has been show to
decrease anxiety in dogs
• Dogs sweat along the top of their
nose and between their pads
• Some calming signals are innate.
Puppies as young as 7 hours old
yawn when being picked up and
handled.
Fun Facts
• Dogs that were born blind exhibit the same body language
and calming signals that other dogs do.
• Dogs can learn by watching one another. Some trainers teach
using social learning. This was originally thought to only be
possible in primates.
• If a dog's stress/arousal goes above threshold it typically takes
3 days for those hormones to completely leave the body. Each
additional arousing event builds upon the current level.
Chronic stress/arousal actually lowers the threshold
Additional resources
“Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog” Scott & Fuller
“Dogs: A New Understanding” Ray and Lorna Coppinger
“The Culture Clash” Jean Donaldson
“Inside of a Dog” Alexandra Horowitz
More on wolf pack theory
http://www.davemech.org/news.html
Questions ???
Walking Tools
Walking Tools for Loose Leash Walking
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Recommended:
Easy Walk Harness
Halti Harness
Freedom Harness
Misc. Front clip harnesses
Halti Head Halter
Gentle Leader
Misc. Head Halters
Not Recommended:
• Back Clip Harnesses (but
great for medical issues!)
• Choke Chains
• Pinch Collars
Front Clip Harnesses
Easy Walk Harness
Halti Harness
Freedom Harness
Halti Head Collar
Gentle Leader